


Would You?

by minisculecosmos



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff, No real gore, Reading the Books, Reading the Percy Jackson Books, This idea wouldn't leave me alone, all canon ships galore, all main characters make an appearance, back in time, back in time to read the books, but not to read the books, enjoy, hopefully good grammar so that's already going for me, just tell the story, mild trigger warning for grief, no real angst here guys, percabeth galore, reading the heroes of olympus books, takes place during house of hades, well maybe but not really. just with a certain son of hermes, wink wink, y'all already know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:34:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23569894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minisculecosmos/pseuds/minisculecosmos
Summary: If you could change it all, would you?This thought wouldn't leave Percy alone. Sure, he loved the family he found at Camp Half Blood, but he couldn't help but wonder sometimes when it would all end- and what he could have done to keep two near-apocalypses from happening within two years.Well, the fates heard you, Jackson.Thrown out of Tartarus, Percy and Annabeth find themselves in the throne room of the gods, on the winter solstice when everything went wrong. Now, they have the chance to change what will happen to these poor demigods who just wanted to be loved.A typical reading the books story with a twist  but with effort put into the grammar and spelling, and they're just retelling the story instead of actually reading the books, word-for-word, because that's just tedious.All canon couples, including solangelo eventually
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Calypso/Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 41
Kudos: 255





	1. If you had the choice...

**Author's Note:**

> Please enjoy, guys. I fell back into a PJO hole recently, and the lack of complete stories like these with decent grammar and plot is truly sad.
> 
> I apologize in advance for any dates or ages I got wrong, some ages might be a bit off- I'm going off memory and google.

Tartarus was hell, in every sense of the word. As he and Annabeth trudged on into the never-ending darkness, Percy wondered where it had all gone wrong.

Once upon a time he had lived an embarrassing, but still survivable life. He didn’t miss that life for anything, but the normalcy of not being attacked by monsters nearly everyday seemed appealing compared to this nonstop tide of waves of angry gods, monsters, titans, and now giants.

He had no regrets about falling into Tartarus with Annabeth, of course. There was no way in all the multiverse he would have let go of her. After all, she was his lifeline, and they could protect each other like no one else could. Even now, with boyfriend and girlfriend status, they were friends first and would always support each other. He was reminded of Athena’s warning not too long ago about personal loyalty, his fatal flaw.

Now he wanted to send an Olympian sized tidal wave at her. That loyalty had kept Olympus existing and strong even through the second war with the Titans.

But now here he was, walking on glass shores along a river of liquid fire and sulfuric air.

_Joy._

At least he had Annabeth. And Bob, he supposed, though he wasn’t sure for how long.

He reflected more on what had gotten him here. So many deaths, prophecies that came and went…

He wished he could know peace for once in his life.

He supposed he had, those few months between the war and being taken by Hera, despite how busy those months were. But they had been nice- no looming threats, no great prophecy, just life. He thought about all his friends who no longer knew it.  
He sighed.

Luke had been here once, his head supplied. How did he make it out?

Easy, he thought again. He was on the side of the monsters.

Looking back, he often wished he could have known Luke better. Talk to him more, understand him more. Maybe he could have stopped the second Titan war from ever happening, delaying the great prophecy for a few more years. And then Gaea would not be stirring, and he and Annabeth would hopefully have a shot at surviving long enough to see the world, finish school...

A voice in his head popped up. _But if you could change it all, would you?_

He wasn’t sure who had said that. It sounded like an old grandma but also a young girl and the caring voice of a mother all at once. It made him think.

Would he really change it all, given the chance?

Percy wouldn’t lie, he had thought about it many times, especially in the days following the war. He would try to befriend Luke, sway him, save Zoё, save Silena, save Beckendorf, Lee, Fletcher, save Nakamura even, _save Bianca-_

Tartarus was _clearly_ getting to him.

Annabeth stopped suddenly, holding up her rock to defend herself. I held Riptide, and Bob held his broom.

There was a small pack of hellhounds a couple of yards away. Percy tried to pull Annabeth and Bob behind a nearby boulder as protection, but upon trying to kneel, Annabeth whimpered as her broken ankle flared up again. The hellhounds stopped moving, and turned towards the two demigods, and Bob.

Sighing, Percy realized they would have to fight, and grabbed Annabeth’s hand as they faced the monsters.

The hellhounds were strong, but luckily Percy had adrenaline, fear, sheer panic, and his girlfriend on his side, so they really didn’t stand a chance. As the last one approached, Annabeth cried out. A hellhound had gotten her leg, and a gash on her chin flared red. Percy rushed over to help her just as he killed the last one, but there wasn’t much they could do. Percy ripped off a sleeve from his shirt and tied it below Annabeth's knee. Not quite a tourniquet, but hopefully a way of slowing the blood. He tried to get Bob’s attention to help heal her before she passed out from blood loss.

He held her in his arms, grabbing her hand to say _I’m here. And you’re not dying on my watch, not today._

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and from the glass and rocks shone bright light, surrounding Annabeth and him, and they felt the ground disappear beneath them, and the couple fell once again.


	2. Backwards, but also Sideways

In Olympus, the gods were holding their annual winter solstice council, made different only by the group of young demigods huddled together in a group in front of their supersized Olympian parents.

Unbeknownst to the gods, one demigod was about to make a choice that would later result in the second Titan war.

The demigod, Luke Castellan, steeled his nerves and waited for the kids to disperse around the room enough so he could grab the bolt. Zeus was lazily standing by his throne, watching the gods make very awkward conversation with their children, though the only ones who seemed to get along at all were Apollo and his kids.

But before Luke could take the first step, a light appeared by the entrance to the throne room. It got brighter, until eventually it faded, revealing two demigods covered in grime, blood, dust, and gods knew what else.

The gods stopped talking, turning to look either in curiosity, nonchalance, or anger at the newcomers who had interrupted the winter solstice meeting- some of the gods just really, really wanted to get this torturous meeting over with.

Once silent, those in the throne room could hear faint whispers coming from the figure who was sitting on his knees, saying something like “Hang on, you’ll heal.”

In his lap was a girl whose leg was bleeding profusely onto the pristine floor of the throne room.

Apollo, in normal human size, leaped out of the chair and ran to the two. He kneeled by the boy, whose eyes were focused entirely on the girl, hands going pale from how tight he was holding her hand and head.

The god cleared his throat.

The boy jumped, and in a second his sword was pointed at Apollo’s throat, eyes both full of fear and wild like the fiercest storm. In the next second, the boy had blinked, slouched, and collapsed, sword clattering to the ground beside him. “A-Apollo?” The god raised his eyebrows at the stranger, who somehow recognized him despite the god not recognizing him. “May I help the girl?” he asked, softly.

Percy nodded, and said “please” with the tortured voice of someone who hadn't had water for days. Realizing he was out of danger, the boy straightened his shoulders, painfully, and addressed the Olympians staring down at him.

“I am sorry to interrupt the meeting, but I do not know how we got here myself.”

He suddenly seized up, a coughing fit overtaking him due to the change in air, before adding raspily, “And if you could not smite us, please, that would be great.”

He noticed the group of demigods hiding behind Chiron, and paled even more when he noticed who was there.

He saw so many faces that he hadn’t seen in what felt like ages, including Silena, Benckendorf, Lee, Fletcher, and- young Luke, and young Annabeth. The boy froze, unable to speak for a minute. Those faces… he had missed them dearly.

Those few months he had at camp after the war, everyone could feel the empty space where the deceased demigods had once existed, only to be, well, simply not there anymore. Cabins got new counselors, often much younger than their predecessors, and spots in the dining pavilion had been left open in honor of the fallen.

The boy looked thoughtful. _What brought us here?_ The girl was still passed out. _Maybe Annabeth would know._

Apollo spoke up from behind the boy, who broke out of his reverie to turn to look at the girl, and he walked over to kneel by her side again.

“By us, you two, where were you guys? Her ankle is severely broken, her other leg damaged, you’ve both been coughing non-stop, and I can’t say I’ve ever seen anyone dirtier.”

The boy looked sheepish at that comment. “We were in Tartarus,” he supplied nonchalantly.

“What?! Why? _How?!?_ ” Apollo exclaimed.

“Long story,” was all the reply he got.

There was another burst of light, and when it faded, the boy was holding a note.

Zeus, noticing the note, commanded, “Read it aloud.”

“Uh, sure,” said the boy. He took a rattling breath.

“Gods and demigods, we the three Fates have decided for the better of Olympus and civilization to send some of the most powerful demigods of their time back to yours, so that future war and death may be avoided. In doing this, a new parallel world of sorts is created, where the demigods are now. When over, the demigods will return to their time, and their world, like nothing has changed, but this one will have a very different course to follow. For now, let the demigods introduce themselves with parentage, but no titles. Once settled, the boy may tell his story, from twelve until now. In case his testimony is not enough, we will be sending others later on to help.

"P.S, no killing anyone, no matter what. They are all important, even if for the wrong reasons. The Fates.”

“Well then,” muttered Hades. “And you two are?”

The girl, who Apollo had helped stand up once conscious, spoke first. “My name is Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena.”

The goddess in question gave her daughter a smile and a nod, before looking at the boy and scrutinizing him, wondering why he was with her daughter, alone, and in Tartarus. The campers turned to look at the younger Annabeth, who was now staring in some combination of awe, fear, and curiosity at her older self. And more, who the boy her older self was with was.

“And my name is Percy Jackson,” the boy said. “Son of Poseidon”.


	3. Some quiet, please?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg guys- your comments nearly made me cry. Even the simplest comments can be the nicest. I love you all for reading! 
> 
> next chapter is already in the works

His name was met with silence.

Though it only lasted for a second, then Zeus bolted upright and brandished his bolt at the son of Poseidon. “Brother,  _ you broke the oath? _ ” he asked furiously.

“Do not hurt him, brother.  _ You  _ broke it as well,” Poseidon added equally angered, though for different reasons. 

“Hey, Lord Zeus, you broke it twice, so he’s really not the one at fault here,” Percy added.

Zeus glared at him. “Who do you think you are to-”

Annabeth, mostly recovered, interrupted, “Now, the note said no killing, right? That has to include maiming too. How about we all just figure out how we’re going to do this,  _ rationally _ , and maybe Percy and I can rest for a minute? We’ve been awake for almost a week straight, now.”

Some of the gods looked shocked at the statement. What had they been going through that put such a strain on them? They should be safe at Camp- unless they were on a quest, but even then, Tartarus was never a possible destination on a quest. Even the Underworld rarely saw visitors.

Hestia, who until this point had been watching silently from the hearth, spoke up. “I agree with Ms. Chase. These heroes deserve rest, and we can always start this tomorrow."

Athena agreed, while others grumbled about having to wait or just not wanting to do this at all. 

But soon, another light appeared, which dumped two more demigods on the floor. 

“Oof! What-”

“Get off me right now Pinecone face-”

“Yeah, well thanks for cushioning my fall Ghost Boy. Seems like you’re useful for something-”

“Hey! Just because you’re the high and mighty-”

“Nico! Shut! Up!”

Thalia offered a hand to help the so-called “Ghost Boy” get up. Upon noticing that the two had landed in the throne room, they didn’t bow but instead rolled their eyes. 

“Ah, schist. Why did you bring us here?”

The gods were appalled at her rudeness, to say the least-but Thalia couldn't bother to care. Not when her best friends were off risking their lives again to help the gods while they did nothing but complain about their split personality disorder migraines, or whatever. Nope, no apology there.

“T-Thalia?” a young girl’s voice called. Luke stood behind her, hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Is that you? But how?” Luke said.

Thalia found the source of the voices and proceeded to hold out her arms to Annabeth. The girl ran forward and punched Thalia in the chest, playfully, before accepting the hug. She tried to talk    
How are you here? You were a pine tree! You look different. What’s the silver thing on your head?”

Thalia chuckled at the girl’s antics. She was glad to withstand it though, because she knew Annabeth needed the comfort. 

But after letting Annabeth have her turn, she straightened up and faced Luke, who had been walking hesitantly toward Thalia. She analyzed him for a minute, before walking over and giving him a hug, too. Unlike Annabeth, he did not collapse, but instead searched her face. “What happened? How are you back? Why- why did you have to die?” His voice cracked on the last question, before fake coughing and standing back up straight. Thalia stepped back. “My name is Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, if you didn’t guess. I was told no titles, so I’ll leave it there.”

However, one goddess had noticed the circlet adorning Thalia’s head. She said nothing, but silently wondered why Zoё was no longer her lieutenant, however many years in the future they had come from. Of course, one cannot expect the same maiden to be lieutenant for so many centuries- Zoё had earned the position over and over again, and her skill certainly kept her alive this long, but Artemis enjoyed having her in the hunt, and she would be greatly saddened to see her go. 

Nico, who had been forgotten as soon as the younger Annabeth had called out her name, had gone over to Annabeth and Percy. They were all a bit confused as to what was going on- though of course Annabeth had an idea forming- but they all agreed that Tartarus sucked. Nico had looked over the two, eyes lingering on Percy’s injuries, and offered them some ambrosia squares he had in his jacket pocket. They refused, saying Apollo had already helped them. Nico called out “So, I’m still here, Thalia.”

The hunter turned around to see Percy and Annabeth lying on a sort of couch-cot hybrid, and rushed over immediately. “Oh gods! I heard what happened, Annie I’m so sorry you had to go through that-” her rambling was cut off by Annabeth just giving her a hug, much like her younger self had just done. “Don’t worry about it. We’re here now, aren’t we?” 

Thalia chuckled. Same old Annie.

“And don’t call me Annie.”

“You know you don’t mind it.”

Annabeth just chuckled. 

Nico, done with the sappy reunions, pushed himself up. Once again, the son of Hades was the odd one out.  _ What a shocker.  _ He turned around, noticing the gods looking at them, some with tears even at the sight of the reunion of friends. He looked at Thalia and gestured for her to get the couple up, and tried to brave the Olympians as twelve. Well, thirteen, since his father was here. He glanced at him, and noticed Hades was looking at his son with sadness and also joy that he was safe and alive. And seemingly sane. “It’s my turn now, I guess. My name is Nico DiAngelo, son of Hades.” 

Zeus shot up again.  _ “You too?!?” _

“I am not guilty, brother. My children were born before the pact. Nico, where is Bianca?”

Nico, despite having expected the question, stiffened. “She… passed away. Three years ago, our time.” 

He glanced at Artemis, giving her a quick glare before rejoining his cousins and Annabeth. The gods were silent. Percy, standing up, put an arm around Nico. “Hey, maybe we can save her this time around. That’s why we’re here, you know. To save people.” 

Nico glared at Percy for getting so close but also sighed, knowing he was right. He wanted more than anything to save his sister, even if he wouldn’t see her, but just to know that she was alive...

He shook his head. He couldn’t get his hopes up, especially since they didn’t even know if saving her was possible. Deaths from a prophecy were not so easy to get around. 

“I am sorry, son.” 

Nico looked up at Hades, shocked. 

“My children never lead easy lives. It seems you are no exception.”

Nico stayed silent.

“Elysium, I’m sure,” Hades suggested.

Nico nodded. 

Zeus cleared his throat. “Well, I suggest that since the demigods cannot leave here for the time being, we set up some accommodations for them here. Hestia, would you mind?’

Surprised at being pointed out so obviously, Hestia smiled and stood up, brushing off her brown dress. “May I suggest we eat dinner first? These poor half-bloods have been watching all of this for so long now, surely they are hungry.” That elicited many cheers from the campers. “Follow me, children.” They, of course, complied. And Luke, looking back at the bolt, decided that could wait- he had Thalia for now, now.

Outside of the throne room where before an entrance area led to the rest of Olympus, was a two-story simple Greek style building. Hestia smiled, “This must be your quarters for now. Younger campers, first floor. Time travelers, second. And please do separate by male/female.”

The campers went inside, excited to be on Olympus for a bit longer. 

But the time travellers waited outside, thinking. 

“Do you think we can save him?” Thalia said pensively.

“I hope so. But we have to be careful, remember that Luke wasn’t the only one  _ He  _ talked to. If we save Luke, we risk losing another demigod, and we might not know who,” Annabeth pointed out. 

“Man, it’s weird seeing him again. He looks so.. not evil right now,” Percy said.

“Hey, that wasn’t truly until our labyrinth quest-” interrupted Annabeth.

“No, not really. We don;t know when he took on the curse, and that’s what really sealed it, I think. After all, after that winter..”

“Don’t be mean.”

“Says the girl who had a crush on him even when he poisoned her best friend’s tree.”

“I did not-”

“Just saying.”

Percy gave Annabeth a look, and she sighed, exasperated. “Should we confront him about the bolt?” 

“I don’t know. It’ll come up at some point, and the gods definitely won’t be happy with him.”

“Did he steal it yet?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, then at least we can say he hasn’t done anything yet.” 

They thought in silence for a minute.

What they didn’t realize was Hermes had heard the whole thing, wanting to hear his suspicions confirmed. It pained him greatly to think about what would happen to his son in the near future, a fate he knew could have been helped if only the gods had paid even a sliver of attention to their children more often.

Inside the house, Luke paced the floor of his room. He had a choice to make. Steal the bolt, or no. Clearly, they would be stuck here longer, which meant he could be found out more easily, but he also did not want Kronos to choose someone else, or punish him somehow. And Thalia had showed up- but as a hunter. Why did she swear off men? If anything, he was under the impression that Thalia liked him, at least until the disaster at camp. Was her taking the oath his doing? Why? Luke cursed as he realized he would have to wait and listen to find out, but possibly be exposed in the process.

But one thing was for sure.

Some way, somehow, things would change.


	4. One Dysfunctional Family, Coming Right Up!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The demigods prepare for the story-telling, and some have a particularly interesting breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! New chapter. I hope the demigods aren't ooc, because I kno I wrote Percy as being more serious, but then again they were just in Tartarus and Percy can be wise when he needs to be. He isn't dumb, just a jokester. Also, I apologize for any typos, and there were some things I wanted to add but I also really just wanted to get the chapter posted.\  
> Keep scrolling, and enjoy! :)

Inside the house, the younger demigods marveled at all that had happened that day.

Especially one daughter of Athena and son of Hermes.

Pacing her room, Annabeth contemplated what was going on, and how Thalia was brought back to life. She wanted little more than to see her older sister figure again, but who knew how long they would be stuck here. She would have to make a plan for this- after all, Athena always has a plan. 

The older demigods had finally gone into the first floor, finding a living room complete with a fireplace and comfy looking couches for all of them. The demigods collapsed in front of the fire, relaxing into the comfort of a warm hearth and absolute safety. 

Thalia broke the silence. “So, tomorrow, do we confront Luke?”

“I don’t know,” Anabeth answered. “It might be wise to wait to see if he does it on his own, or if he steals the bolt while we’re here.”

They thought again in silence for a minute. 

Nico spoke up, “I’m going to bed now. Percy, Annabeth, you should get some sleep too. Gods know you need it.” He got up and disappeared into one of the bedrooms, closing the door.

Annabeth sighed. She had hoped that this time might be good for Nico to open up a bit, maybe even get closer to his cousins. She knew the children of the Big Three (the Greek ones at least) had an interesting relationship, one might say. Thalia and Percy had gotten better at joking around together, but one also couldn’t forget that one game of capture-the-flag that resulted in a full blown show of powers between the two, _despite_ being on _the same team_ \- Nico was a whole other story. After Bianca died, he had rarely been seen around camp at all- and it said a lot that some campers were surprised that he had shown up to fight the war on _their_ side. The son of Hades led a difficult life- but Annabeth didn’t understand why he was still so closed off, years later. Grief affects everyone differently, but most campers had lost a friend in the war, and most had bounced back. Nico should be learning to live without her by now, so why was he still so closed off? Besides, as the son of the god of death and the underworld, did he not have that resource at least to help him move on? Annabeth knew from Percy that he had summoned her ghost a couple times in the past, especially leading up to the war. 

Percy must have noticed her thinking too hard. “Hey, Wise Girl, I know this is super weird for all of us but I think this’ll really help these guys. I mean, Annabeth, in this world, so many lives could be saved because of this.”

Annabeth nodded, and sighed. “I know, Seaweed Brain. That much is obvious. But Nico… Nico’s interesting.”

“Yeah. But hey, let’s not pry too much, okay? If something is really actually wrong and we notice, we’ll ask him. If not, let him be. He’s made it this far,” Percy said.

“But that’s exactly what I’m worried about.”

Percy quieted her with a quick kiss, and got up to walk toward his own bedroom. 

Annabeth sat there, staring at the fire for a moment more, before heading to her room too.

* * *

Just as the sun was rising on Olympus, the double doors to the house were slammed open by Apollo who yelled “RISE AND SHINE, DEMIGODS!”

The older ones groaned while the younger demigods just sat confused at the god’s antics. 

The god’s blinding smile was much too much that early in the morning. 

Still, Apollo ran and leapt around the house, annoying every young hero- especially his kids, as they were used to waking up at dawn. Will Solace, however, had gotten up a few minutes beforehand so as not to suffer the terror of being woken up so abruptly by a god’s booming voice. “Today is storytime, heroes! Anyone want to give some spoilers? Foreshadowing? Preferably in limerick form. Or haiku, I guess that’s acceptable as well.” More groans.

Later, at breakfast, the demigods sat at an extremely elongated picnic table set up by Hestia. They seemed to sit with their siblings unconsciously, a little unused to being allowed to sit at one table; unlike at camp, where sitting somewhere else could mean a bolt to the head. The table was stocked with the same plates and cups they had at camp, so the heroes only had to say what they wanted to get it.

Eventually, the gods started to join them. Hermes and Apollo were first, and they had appeared sitting on a blank spot on the table, terrifying many of the poor demigods. Of course, the two gods just laughed, hopped off, and went to sit with their kids. Demeter showed up next, followed by Aphrodite, who gave each of her children her blessing, and Ares. Eventually, the gods had all shown up, though the demigods showed many various reactions to this fact. Hermes and Apollo got on with his kids fine- though Luke was sat on the edge of the bench, as far away from his siblings as possible. The downside to this meant that Demeter would not stop pestering him about how he should be eating cereal instead of a typical American breakfast. Aphrodite was giving her kids beauty and dating tips (which left many of them quite embarrassed), Ares awkwardly glared at everyone, and Hephaestus and his kids were silently tinkering with metal and wires that Hephaestus had brought from them. Athena was chatting with the older Annabeth, who was trying her best to hide the fact that she and Percy were a couple. She didn’t want unnecessary tension added on top of the stress and fights between the gods that would undoubtedly break out as a result of the events that Percy would retell. The only gods that hadn’t sat with their kids were Hades and Zeus, who were watching Nico and Thalia from a distance, arms crossed in a manner that made them actually look like brothers for once. Zeus glared at Poseidon and Percy, who were laughing and just enjoying the chance to talk. Poseidon had been asking about Sally, and Percy grimaced when he realized he would have to describe that first fight he had with the minotaur later. 

Hades looked contemplatively at his son, who was sitting next to Percy and Annabeth, staring at his nearly untouched plate. Hades walked over hesitantly, and put a hand on his shoulder.

Nico jumped, startled, and looked up, surprise etched across his features. He scooted over to allow the god room to sit down. Hades broke the silence. “Are you okay, Nico?” 

Said boy’s eyebrows raised at the question. “Well enough.”

Hades frowned slightly, wondering how he could get his son to open up to him. “In the future, do we get along?” 

“I guess- though considering the amount of time I spend in the underworld, we have to. Though I was briefly turned into a dandelion after a “family spat” as she called it.”

Hades barked out a laugh, though he was curious about something. “Do you not stay at Camp Half Blood with your friends?”

Nico grimaced. “Sometimes. But never for very long. Children of Hades… we’re feared by a lot of people. Not everyone thinks I should have a place at camp- though it wasn’t until last summer our time that that was even an option.”

“How so?”

“Well, this is kind of a spoiler, but after a big event Percy got the camp to build more cabins, not just for the twelve Olympians.”

Hades was surprised. “So you have a cabin now?”

“Yeah, complete with obsidian, green greek fire torches, and darkness galore.” Nico chuckled darkly.

“Sounds… lively.”

Nico snorted. “I guess.”

A pause. “Do you not like it?”

“The cabin’s fine. But each time I try to stay at camp for more than a few days, something happens and I end up being shunned due to my “scary death powers”, quote unquote. So I leave. Though…”

Nico paused and looked around to check for eavesdroppers before continuing. “I’ve spent some time at the Roman camp too. I’m there as your, well, Pluto’s ambassador, and they don’t ask too many questions. I have a sister there.”

Hades gave Nico a look. “How? She died a while ago, as I recall, with her mother… a tragic fate indeed.”

“ _Well,_ that’s actually my fault. I found her in Asphodel. She still had her memories, so I brought her back, and now she’s... you’ll find out. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if she showed up at some point.”

Hades nodded, before summoning some food for himself. “I assume I turned a blind eye?”

Nico chuckled. “Yeah.”

They ate together in a now comfortable silence.

Meanwhile, Athena was trying to gauge for her daughter's relationship with that sea-spawn. She had to know why she had been in Tartarus with a son of her enemy, of all people. 

“So, Annabeth, how do you know Perseus?” 

Annabeth looked up at her. “You’ll find out. It should be pretty early on in the story.”

“Yes, but I was curious as to the nature of your relationship.”

Annabeth crooked an eyebrow. Did she care? No, more likely she didn’t want her daughter to have anything to do with a son of Poseidon. _Well, too late for that._ Besides, she wanted to see her reaction when she found out they were dating when it came up _._

“We are very close,” she replied.

Athena fumed silently.

By now, Zeus had wandered to Thalia, who was eating her food thoughtfully, seated across from Artemis. Upon seeing him walking over, Thalia glared at him _(the audacity)_ before continuing wit her previous discussion with Artemis. “Hello, Thalia.”

“Zeus.”

“May we talk?”

Thalia rolled her eyes at his formality, catching Artemis’s eyes that gave her a knowing look.

“Sure. What?”

“I simply wanted to check on my daughter. May I ask how you were brought back from your tree?”

Thalia sighed. “Well, you can ask. Doesn’t mean I can say, though, it’s a pretty big spoiler.”

Well, that and the fact that she didn’t want to get any fingers pointing at Luke before it was time. She still had a soft spot for the son of Hermes, even though he did try to end the world as they knew it. But this Luke hadn’t done anything yet.

Zeus gave her a look. “You should answer your father.”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, _dad_ , I answer to m'Lady Artemis now. And you will find out when everyone else does.”

“Daughter-”

She stood up and crossed her arms defensively.“Nope. And by the way, why did you turn me into a tree? Did you know I would be brought back? If so, why are you asking me about this now? I doubt you have that kind of foresight. Unless you do, then you should’ve done something to protect me from those cyclopes, instead of resigning me to being a tree and unable to move on. I could’ve been in Elysium, but no, I was stuck in some inbetween without any definite chance of living again. So thanks for the fact I could be brought back, but you clearly had nothing to do with it.”

And with that, Thalia sat back down and resumed her conversation with Artemis. 

When everyone was done with their breakfast, Hestia appeared at one end of the table. “I hope you all found your meal satisfying. Now, I believe it is story time!”

The flames in her eyes seemed like they were laughing at the tales and disaster to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for not getting to the story yet- I wanted to allow for build up and some planning for the story itself, as well as allow the characters to actually talk with their parents. Often these PJO fanfics miss a lot of emotion and actually storytelling outside of writing the Lightning Thief prose down and saying "They all laughed." or something.  
> Anywho, how is my writing? The barely-existent plot so far? Let me know, and again, I LOVE ALL OF YOUR COMMENTS SO MUCH. If I don't respond, don't take it personally, I am still busy with school and family stuff even during quarantine (also sleep). But I love you all, stay healthy, and the next chapter is almost done! :D
> 
> Also, do you want to see Percy (and the others) suffer the pain when telling the story that they felt when it was happening to them? I've noticed it's a popular trope in these reading the books fanfics, but I'm not a fan- but if you all want it, then you shall get it. Thoughts?

**Author's Note:**

> Hahahahaha
> 
> I kid you not I wrote like 3k of this in one sitting during this quarantine. 
> 
> Please give feedback, comment, bookmark, subscribe, etc.
> 
> Kudos make my day!!!!
> 
> I love you all <3
> 
> Now the next chapter!


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